Girdle



P. .i'. MORANO July 24, 1956 GIRDLE Filed Oct; 13, 1954 INVENTOR HIT/76AJ. Mora/20 tates GIRDLE Patrick J. Morano, Newark, N. .l., assignor toEven-Pu] Foundations, Inc, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication October 13, 1954, Serial No. 461,956

1 (Zlaim. (Cl. 237) contour of the abdomen without interfering withcomfort.

As is well known, garments of this nature utilize sections or panels ofelastic material which, when stretched, provide the desired torsoconstricting and molding characteristics. However, as is also wellknown, such elastic panels or sections may stretch unevenly andexcessively, with the result that the garment as a whole is unable toproperly perform its intended function. The instant invention eliminatesthis disadvantage by the provision of novel means for limiting theextent of stretching of the elastic portions of the garment,particularly in certain regions of the abdominal area where the torsoconstricting and molding characteristics are critical. Briefly stated,this limiting means involves the provision of two superposed panels oneof which is formed from elastic material while the other is formed fromnon-elastic material, the elastic panel being pre-stretched and securedunder tension to the non-elastic panel. Thus, the non-elastic paneleffectively limits the extent of stretching of the elastic panel and, asa unit, the two panels facilitate proper control of the contour of thebody without excessive stretching, bulging, folding or gapping, as ingarments of conventional types.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the particularconfiguration, arrangement and mutual relationship of the panels andother parts of the front section of the garment, whereby proper controlof the abdominal region may be achieved.

With the above more important objects and features in view and suchother objects and features as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the invention resides in the details of construction andarrangement of parts substantially as shown in the accompanying drawing,wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like partsand wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing the invention in position on abody;

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the invention per se;

Figure 3 is an inside elevational view of the front portion of thegarment;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the planeof the line 44 in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially in theplane of the line 55 in Figure 3.

With reference now to the accompanying drawing in detail, the torsoconstricting and molding garment for illustrative purposes is shown inthe form of a girdle designated generally by the numeral 10. It is to beunderstood, however, that the invention may be embodied also in othergarments of a similar nature, such as corsets, corselets, garter belts,and the like.

The side and back portions of the girdle 10 are of conventionalconstruction and the invention concerns itself primarily with thestructure of the front portion or section 12 which covers the abdomen.The section 12 comprises a pair of circumferentially spaced, verticallyelongated side members 14 which are preferably formed from nonelasticmaterial and extend substantially from the waist or upper edge to thelower edge of the garment. Disposed between and secured to these sidemembers is a panel unit which consists of an outer panel 16 and an innerpanel 18. These panels have reversely curved lateral edges 20 which arestitched together and to the adjacent edges of the side members 14, aswill be clearly apparent.

The outer panel 16 includes a main body portion 16a which is formed fromnon-elastic material and occupies the entire upper region of the outerpanel as well as extending downwardly to the lower region in the form ofa tapered tongue which has its terminus at the lower edge of thegarment, as shown. Moreover, the outer panel 16 also includes a pair ofsubstantially triangular inserts 22 of elastic material which aredisposed at the opposite sides of the depending tongue of the main bodyportion 16a.

The inner panel 18 is formed in its entirety from elastic material andis of such size that it underlies only the upper region of the outerpanel 16, as is best shown in Figure 3.

When the panel unit is assembled, the lower portion of the inner panel18 is first stretched and held under tension. The outer panel 16 is thensuperposed on the inner panel and the two panels are secured together bystitching at the side edges thereof. When the tension on the lowerportion of the inner panel 18 is subsequently relaxed, the latter,returning to its unstretchcd form, will cause the overlying intermediateregion of the outer panel portion 16a to shirr somewhat. This, however,will be dissipated when the garment is donned, at which time the elasticinner panel will again be stretched and the non-elastic material of theouter panel rendered taut and smooth. Moreover, this tightening actionof the non-elastic material of the outer panel will effectively limitthe extent of stretching of the elastic inner panel and it is to beparticularly noted that inasmuch as only the lower portion of theelastic inner panel is subjected to pre-stretching, the resultantcontrolling action will be most pronounced in the intermediate region ofthe front section of the garment and, consequently, of the abdomen.

The inner and outer panels, in addition to being stitched together attheir side edges, are also stitched together at their top edge, whilethe lower edge 24 of the inner panel is free and detached from the outerpanel to facilitate the stretch controlling action already described.

It will be also noted that the upper end portions of the inserts 22overlie the pre-stretched lower portion of the inner panel 18, wherebythese superposed layers of elastic material coact with each other inafiording relatively resilient control at points toward the sides of theabdomen. However, the lower portions of the inserts 22 are free ofoverlap with the inner panel and thus are able to afford comfort of legmovement while walking, bending or sitting.

if desired, customary spring or spiral bone reinforcements may beprovided at suitable points in the garment and the garment is equippedwith the usual slide fastener 26 and hose supporters 28, as shown.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly,it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and variousmodifications and changes may be resorted to, such as may fall withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is:

In a torso constricting and molding garment, a front 3 sectioncomprising an outer panel of non-elastic material having a relativelywide upper portion and a. downwardly taperedalower portion, a pair ofsubstantially triangular upwardly tapered elastic inserts secured to theside edges of the tapered lower portion of said outer panel and havingtheir apices disposed substantially midway between the waist and thebottom edge of the garment, and an inner panel of elastic materialunderlying and secured to the side edges of the upper portion of saidouter panel and yieldable circumferentially of the garment, the bottomedge of said inner panel being detached from the outer panel anddisposed between the bottom edge of the outer panel and the apices ofsaid inserts whereby to underlie the apex portions of the inserts, theupper region of the inner panel corresponding in width to the upperregion of the outer panel and the lower region of the inner panel beingnarrower than the overlying region of the outer panel when the garmentis relaxed, whereby the outer panel may limit to difierent degrees theextent of stretching of the respective upper and lower regions of theinner panel when the garment is worn.

References Cited. in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

